Well... I recently came across the knowledge from an American friend of mine that you guys have it pretty sweet with regards to petrol prices... at least, compared to Australia... ours are way higher... same with music instrument/accessories prices too... sucks i tell ya...

But, I drive an '02 Lancer, it has pretty good fuel economy... I drive the speed limit now and use highest gear whenever possible... not sure how much that helps... ... oh yea, and i also catch the train to uni now... pfffffft...

I just recently parked my Jeep Grand and went out and bought a 1999 Chevy Metro. I did the math before Katrina, back in the good old days when gas was going for $2.37/gal., and my tipping point was the $2.49/gal mark. Any more than that, and I was not going to be able to afford to go to work any more.

So, rather than become a ward of the state, I decided to do something about my situation...

The math worked out like this:

I drive 450 miles a week on average. The Jeep gets 14.7 mpg combined city/hwy. I rounded it up to 15mpg...so that's 30 gals at $2.50/gal, or $75 a week. The Metro gets 45 combined, so that's 10 gals at $2.50, or $25...the choice is clear. Each month, I save approximately $200 by driving the Metro!

I recalculated last week, at last week's prices, at $2.95/gal, and the effect is even more dramatic...

Jeep- 30 gals @ $2.95= $88.50 a week, or about $354/mo in gas.

Metro- 10 gals @ $2.95= $29.50 a week. Multiply by four, and you get $118.

yea according to a google search i just did... US fuel prices are "surging" towards $3 per gallon... Australia's fuel prices are up near 140 cents per litre... convert to stoooooopid USD and stooooopid gallons... thats like upwards of $4 a gallon... so, yea, u can whine

Now the oil futures are shooting back up the scale again, thanks to Rita...up over $2 a barrel, mid-morning. Gas prices will follow, and go over $3 again by the end of the month.

Just filled up today at $2.59/gal. Cost me a whopping $18 to feed the Metro.

I also inflated my tires to 40psi on the rears, 38psi fronts. Should help a little with rolling resistance.

I also put 1oz. pure acetone in my fuel per 10 gallons. Acts as a dispersant, breaking the surface tension of the gasoline, resulting in a finer droplet coming out of the injector, and a more complete burn. The percentage comes out to be about .03%, by volume, and the acetone won't eat your parts...

Changed out my sparkplugs this weekend, using NGK Iridium IX. Supposed to add mpg and they last a long time. Every little bit helps. The old ones were getting fouled. They were Denso plugs, which I have never really liked all that much.

I also keep my A/C off on the morning drive, unless I have to defog the windshield. Afternoon drive I have to run it, or risk heatstroke...

I am trying to hit 50 mpg, my Metro is a 4-cyl, 1.3L producing a terrifying 79 HP at the wheels...with the A/C off. Probably close to 55 HP with it on...

Anyone have any other ideas on mods that help mileage? I am thinking of replacing the air cleaner with a K&N, or close equivalent, cone filter (washable). That may help get a little more air into the motor. I'm also going to check the EGR, they supposedly get plugged up with sludge really easy on these motors...

In Europe and around the globe we are used to have such high gas prices, so we are more used to alternative means of transport like mass transit system, bicycles et cetera, when available, especially for the people with less income.

In US, where people are used to drive a car everywhere, even the trips of less mile to the supermarket or school etc, high gas prices can easily become a burden.

Imagine people living "on the edge" with minimal, if any, discretionary income and savings, making towards the lower end of the pay scale. Many cannot afford the pinch of higher fuel prices, and I know personally one that lost his job due to not being able to afford the commute. He now is trying to scrape by mowing lawns and doing fix-it work around my town...

We're all just one paycheck away from living on the streets. Or, one hurricane away...

August: Cost to take bus to work - $22.50/month
September: Cost to take bus to work - $22.50/month

I did get some price shock yesterday though. Last time I filled up my tank I paid $2.659/gallon for Super (93 octane). Yesterday I had to top off my tank (down to 1/2 tank from last fill up) and it was $3.179/gallon for Super. Guess I'm lucky in that I only drive about 100 miles/month in my car.

I still use my Jeep as a gig-mobile, though- my rig won't fit in the Metro (four-door). Most of my gigs are around 25 miles around the house. It is also my HEV (Hurricane Evacuation Vehicle) because of it's high clearance and four-wheel drive. The cat carriers will also fit nicely, if it's time to bug out...

Yea... I'm finding that I drive less and less now too... Instead of driving to uni... I would drive to the station and catch a train + bus to uni... now instead of even driving to the station, i catch a bus to the station, then a train, then another bus...

And when I do drive, its always with the air conditioning off

But hey, I can't really complain, i only use a fraction of the fuel i used to

In Europe and around the globe we are used to have such high gas prices, so we are more used to alternative means of transport like mass transit system, bicycles et cetera, when available, especially for the people with less income.

In US, where people are used to drive a car everywhere, even the trips of less mile to the supermarket or school etc, high gas prices can easily become a burden.

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Not to hi-jack this thread, but....

I did some research on transit in the US vs. Europe when I was in college. The whole Europe vs. US transit situation boils down to this: In general, Europeans live in closer proximity to major cities than do Americans(they love Suburbs), also European cities are closer to each other than US cities. All this, and a few other key ideas (history, economics, etc.), help to explain why Europe has much better mass-transit than the US.

In the US, people and businesses are very spread out. For instance, I live in Boston, MA with my girlfriend. She takes a subway train downtown to work everyday, but I have to drive 35 miles out of the city to get to work. I could take a train, but it would drop me off 9 miles from my companies suburban complex, and take about 2 hours. My company built their facility 9 miles outside of the nearest city (and train stop), because it was cheaper and easier to put it there. Since most everyone has a car, and there is no incentive to build in the city, they go elsewhere.

Most Americans don't drive everywhere because we're lazy, we do it because we have to. If I was able to find a good job in the city I'd take a train too.

The acetone thing was debated left and right on the Corvette forums, and the consensus was that nobody really wants to try it in their cars. Additionally, I tend to think it's BS because it's based on some flawed assumptions - gasoline doesn't have surface tension.

I've parked my beloved Dakota R/T, 9.5 MPG, say no more. I had another gas powered Dakota 4dr as my daily driver, with a small 8. That only got 12-14 mpg, if I was lucky. Had some mods done to it to make it faster too. Anyway, I traded the 4dr Dakota in on a very clean 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 series 4x4. But wait, that truck is 2x the size of the old one, surely I must be smoking crack Say it with me now....Cummins Turbo Diesel.....mmmmm diesel. I get lierally 2x the gas milage that I got in the small 8 Dakota, and diesel is 20 cents cheaper per gallon around here than gas is. Plus, that turbo whistle, what's not to love

What are y'all doing to improve your fuel economy? I listed a few things a few posts back, see if they work for you.

The acetone trick is best used in newer, fuel-injected cars.

The tire inflation trick will work in any car, but be careful, inspect your tires carefully for defects! Don't wanna have a blowout on the freeway!

How many of you have switched your vehicles out for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars?

Anyone out there driving a hybrid?

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Cold air intakes & Free flowing exhausts are probably 2 of the best things people can do to ANY vehicle to improve milage. Computer tuning also helps as well as switching all vehicle fluids to their synthetic based counterparts.